Opioid 'Pill Mill' Scheme With Fatal Overdoses Leads To Guilty Plea For Oakton Doctor

OAKTON, VA — A doctor running a pill mill out of an Oakton medical practice with has pleaded guilty in federal court, according to federal prosecutors. The scheme has ties to multiple fatal drug overdoses.

David Allingham, 64, was the owner and only medically-licensed doctor at Oakton Primacy Care Center, which provides urgent care services. Prosecutors say the pill scheme took place from at least April 2019 to January 2024. Allingham would write prescriptions for opioids and amphetamines without properly assessing the medical need of the patients, prosecutors allege. For example, court documents indicate that pharmacies within Virginia filled 7,330 prescriptions for oxycodone totaling 405,164 pills that Allingham prescribed.

Prosecutors say multiple patients died of drug overdoses within hours, days or weeks of getting a prescription from Allingham.

Multiple pharmacies decided to investigate the doctor's opioid prescribing practices and refused to fill some of his ordered prescriptions. Once a national pharmacy chain indicated it would no longer fill prescriptions written by Allingham, he told his employees to phase out brand pharmacies and use "mom and pop" pharmacies to avoid further scrutiny of patients and his high-dose opioid prescribing practices.

In his absence, Allingham directed his untrained medical staff to issue prescriptions for patients without a proper medical exam. The doctor directed staff to issue prescriptions for opioids at lease 487 times, which accounted for $168,000 in proceeds. Prosecutors say Allingham unlawfully directed employees to use another doctor's identity without authorization to prescribe medications for himself and his family.

In addition, the doctor prescribed amphetamines to multiple chronic pain patients to help with weight loss, regardless of if they were obese. According to prosecutors, at least 527 prescriptions for amphetamines with more than 13,500 pills were provided.

Patients had to pay out of pocket for office visits to Oakton Primacy Care Center, costing $300 to $550 per patient. It would be an extra $700 to receive a doctor's letter. Allingham required patients with chronic pain to visit the practice at least every 21 days, but some of these visits were virtual with a non-medical trained employee. Prosecutors say Allingham authorized prescription renewals without a physical exam but just on "uncorroborated information the patients provided."

At appointments, Allingham typically required patients to take a urine drug screenings but often ignored failed screenings and withheld them from patient files. One patient failed 40 drug tests between 2019 and 2023 but continued to receive oxycodone prescriptions, prosecutors say. Allingham wrote in the patient's file that the patient tested positive for cocaine by handling money with cocaine residue.

Fairfax County Police assisted with the investigation. Law enforcement searched Allingham's home and medical practice in July 2023. Prosecutors say Allingham lied to law enforcement about his prescribing practices and directed an employee to delete text messages between them.

Allingham could face up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 30.